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Lot Essay
Kari Voutilainen’s superbly conceived ‘Observatoire’ wristwatch was awarded the Grand Prix d’Horologerie de Genève 2007.
The present Observatoire is the only example ever made in pink gold (alongside one in white gold), further distinguished by its high-beat 36'000 BPH movement, offering superior precision over the traditional 18,000 BPH versions.
The ‘Observatoire’ is a very special watch even among Kari Voutilainen’s exceptional catalogue. As the name suggests, this timepiece is all about extreme timekeeping accuracy, a homage to the famous observatory chronometers entered into the precision timekeeping competitions in Geneva and Neuchatel in the 20th century. By lucky chance, Kari Voutilainen found several Peseux caliber 260 movements which had never been assembled. These Observatory caliber Peseux were originally made only for testing purposes and never commercially produced for public sale. The discovery of this group of movements inspired Voutilainen to create a very limited series of wristwatches using theses remarkable Peseux base calibers.
Naturally, each movement had to be technically adjusted and tested before being finished with hand anglage and perlage to bring the aesthetic finish up to the highest levels. To quote Kari Voutilainen directly: 'The surfaces of pinions and wheels were completely true and highly polished and with exceptionally even tolerances; springs were pre-tested and hand chosen, the dimensions of shafts and bearings perfectly realized. Watches such as these, created solely for accuracy and nothing else, are capable of a mean accuracy of only tenths of a second per week, something virtually unheard of in present day mechanical watchmaking.'
The present Observatoire is the only example ever made in pink gold (alongside one in white gold), further distinguished by its high-beat 36'000 BPH movement, offering superior precision over the traditional 18,000 BPH versions.
The ‘Observatoire’ is a very special watch even among Kari Voutilainen’s exceptional catalogue. As the name suggests, this timepiece is all about extreme timekeeping accuracy, a homage to the famous observatory chronometers entered into the precision timekeeping competitions in Geneva and Neuchatel in the 20th century. By lucky chance, Kari Voutilainen found several Peseux caliber 260 movements which had never been assembled. These Observatory caliber Peseux were originally made only for testing purposes and never commercially produced for public sale. The discovery of this group of movements inspired Voutilainen to create a very limited series of wristwatches using theses remarkable Peseux base calibers.
Naturally, each movement had to be technically adjusted and tested before being finished with hand anglage and perlage to bring the aesthetic finish up to the highest levels. To quote Kari Voutilainen directly: 'The surfaces of pinions and wheels were completely true and highly polished and with exceptionally even tolerances; springs were pre-tested and hand chosen, the dimensions of shafts and bearings perfectly realized. Watches such as these, created solely for accuracy and nothing else, are capable of a mean accuracy of only tenths of a second per week, something virtually unheard of in present day mechanical watchmaking.'